News
Imports to U.S. major container ports are expected to rebound this month after a double-digit drop in late spring but fall again after previously paused tariffs take effect, according to a Global Port Tracker (GPT) report released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates.
The U.S. ports covered by GPT handled 1.95 million TEUs of containers in May, down 11.8% from April and 6.4% from May 2024.
Ports have not yet reported numbers for June, but GPT projects the month at 2.06 million TEUs, up 5.9% from May but down 3.7% year over year. July is forecast at 2.36 million TEUs, up 2.1% year over year; August at 2.08 million TEUs, down 10.4% year over year and September at 1.82 million TEUs, down 19.9% year over year for the lowest monthly total since 1.87 million TEU in December 2023. October is forecast at 1.81 million TEU, down 19.2% year over year, and November at 1.7 million TEUs, down 21.3% for the lowest total since 1.78 million TEUs in April 2023.
While the falling aggregative totals in August through November are related to tariffs, the large year-over-year percentage declines are partly because imports in late 2024 were elevated due to concerns about East Coast and Gulf Coast port strikes.
The current forecast would bring the first half of 2025 to 12.63 million TEUs, up 4.5% year over year. That would be better than the 12.54 million TEUs forecast last month but still below the 12.78 million TEUs forecast earlier this year before the April tariffs announcement.
